all made up with nowhere to go

A list post, because I think that will be the most convenient format!

1. the 11th was the one year anniversary of me having a job! \o/

2. the night of the 11th was the hottest night this year, so I slept badly because of that. And then also one of the neighbour's teenagers was blasting music till past two thirty in the morning, and that didn't help ONE BIT. I suspect I know which teenager it was, but I don't have the guts to complain to their parents.

3. Because of this, I had to ask my boss if it was okay if I didn't work yesterday. I felt bad about it, but he was fine with it, which I thought he would be.

4. My nephew came to visit the other day, and we played Ocarina of Time on my Gamecube (got to the Deku Tree), and the Sims 3 on my Xbox (rebuilt the entire house). He really, really wanted to play my copy of City Folk, but I don't have a Wii. (Thinking about it, I should've just given it to take home with him, then he could've played it on his Wii, but I legit did not think of that until now).

5. I am still making books, because apparently I can't stop! I now have two (if not three) sketchbooks I've made from various types of paper/card, which is hella amusing when you consider that I stopped using sketchbooks.

If you check out the media tab on on my twitter, you can see some of what I've been up to!

6. Talking of sketchbooks! It's been a month since I stopped drawing in a sketchbook and...I don't know if I've missed it or not. I've done the same amount of drawing that I would've done had I been using one, so *shrug emoji*

It does feel nicer to just have a stack of paper and a clipboard - I suspect this is part of the reason I like spiral bound sketchbooks - because you can just fold the entire book in half, so you don't need so much space to accommodate it.

Also drawings on single sheets of paper are 900% easier to scan!

7. I thought I had a #7, but I do not!

So I don't generally talk about stuff like this on here but: the coronavirus is near my town, if not actually in it. (The first person in the local area with it was confirmed yesterday).

When I went to Burnley on Wednesday, it was not very busy, which is unusual. I did think maybe it was because I went in the afternoon, but nahhhh it's not usually as quiet as that. I also think that's why work's been so quiet this week. My boss was kind of puzzled, and so was I, but now I think about it, it makes sense.

(Also I'm fine with this social distancing stuff - last week I didn't leave the house unless I absolutely needed to, which meant I spent the best part of four days inside).

~

Other than that: I went to Burnley (as noted above) and bought myself more notebooks and pens, because of course I did. I've found myself a new favourite ballpoint (Paper Mate Ink Joy), so I thought I'd stock up while I could find them for cheap/had a bit of extra funds. Also, I'm still writing an offline diary, and I've gone through a few pens already, so having extras doesn't hurt?

The notebooks are gorgeous (and thick!), and match a couple I already own, which is good (I think Tesco must pick a theme and then stock items with it at the same time of year for a couple of years running, maybe? So if I want stuff to match my fox notebook, I'll have to go back later in the year perhaps).

Relatedly: thought I was okay about Mother's Day this year, and then was nearly reduced to tears by card with a nice sentiment in the checkout queue. I'm definitely in a better place this year than last, but that was kind of unexpected. I can't even remember what the card said, now, just that it expressed a lovely thing.

~

Then yesterday seemed to be a DO ALL THE THINGS! day, which was fine, except for weasel brain telling me to stop being lazy every time I sat down, and a most of the day migraine. Which I thought was a bad headache until nope, nope, it definitely wasn't.

So of course, I decided the best course of action (and reward for ALL THE THINGS!) was to start playing The Sims 3. I'm going to delete and restart because I messed some stuff up, and it'd be better to play now I've got a hang of the controls.

It kind of bugs me that you can't edit your Sims once you've started playing, aside from using one of the Karma powers, but I suppose that's the point? Also I had ageing enabled and then I was all, I don't actually want these Sims to die! So I turned it off again.

Don't know what I will do with them today, or who I will make, but after talking to honigfrosch a bit about Dragon Age, I might make some DA characters. I did it in Tomodachi Life, so why not in The Sims as well?

I went back and looked at my village in New Leaf. I have been exceedingly weird about doing so, as the last time I checked it was two days before mum was taken into hospital last July. I was also stupidly worried that all my villagers would have moved out, and my town would be covered in weeds.

As it happens, all my villagers are still there, even the one I don't like, and there was one singular weed in the entire place (I have the thing in place that keeps the weeds to a minimum, so that probably helped). PHEW. I mean, they were all like, "where the heck have you been?", but they were happy to see me back.

(I know they're just pixels, and I know they're not really my friends, but they make me happy. Also this probably the longest I've ever played a sim-type game as, while I get really into them for a while, eventually I get burnt out. Or something in the interface annoys me. Looking at you, Viva Pinata, you and your "help").

(Additionally: there is a copy of the Sims 3 at work (Xbox 360 version) and I'm kind of tempted to get it, because I loved the original Back In The Day™, but I know I'll probably play it for about a week and then stop. Then again, I liked Bustin' Out and The Urbz, so really, who knows????)

Also there was publisher sale on Xbox Live (as there almost always is), and I managed to get Gat Out of Hell for ~£3, which I think was a bargain. Downloading it is a trial, however, because my internet is Not Great. I think I might have to get the ethernet cable and hope connecting my 360 directly to the router makes a difference.

There is a Squeenix sale this week, but I don't think there's anything I want? I suppose I will have to look and see (I mean, if the FF games before XIII were available on the 360, I'd have a handful in a heartbeat, but they're not, so I won't/can't).

~

In other news, I rescued a French-English dictionary from 1887 from work. I'm sort of tempted to think it's the original printing, since it has no other copyright dates in indicating reprints, and it also doesn't look like a reprint. But it is in hella good nick if it is that old. A couple of pages have come away from the spine at the front and back, but that's not surprising, but the rest of the book is completely intact.

Not that I need another French dictionary, but I like old books. This is now possibly one of the oldest books I own.

I also got myself a copy of a War of the Worlds on vinyl! It's missing the booklet with the lyrics and the illustrations, but the discs themselves are in perfect condition. I haven't listened to it yet, but that's okay.

(I always coveted my dad's copy, but after he'd died, my brother said he wanted to keep it, which I thought was fair enough).

~

It turns out it is almost six years since I said I thought I was going off Neil Gaiman. This feeling has not diminished in this time, it's only become stronger.

I haven't read any of his recent books, nor have I felt enthusiasm for them. I'm fed up of hearing about stuff he's written that's being made into: a radio show! a tv series! a graphic novel adaptation!

I just don't care any more. So I stopped following him on twitter, and I wish I'd done it months/years ago.

(I know none of you care; this is more that I wanted to note it down for myself).